Out of Muck
by Aitch
Summary: Ever the amiable hero, Sora tries to befriend a curious creature borne of a pestilence-ridden swamp. His efforts lead to unfathomable horrors and pain.


**Out of Muck**

Deep within a world covered in dark moss and thick with a maddening haze, there was a bubbling swamp filled with putrid fluids. Most of the photosynthetic life died from the fumes, and what few animals remained instinctively wandered about looking for a place to die of hunger and dehydration rather than seek nourishment from the tainted swamp. Rotting carcasses of all sorts littered the ground, left as food only for the parasites and maggots.

The world was a cesspool teeming with darkness and culminating death. Yet it was on this world that Sora, Donald, and Goofy happened to land next on their journey in search of their friends. The moment they set foot on the decaying world, the Heartless sprung their ambush. But emissaries of pestilence would not easily overtake the Keyblade master. With an expert wielding of his blade, Sora maneuvered through the rotting forest and slew his enemy.

It was then that he stumbled upon the swamp. A large bubble of muck popped, spewing its tainted fluids in various directions. Sora shielded his nose from the necrotic stench, nearly emptying the contents of his stomach in the process. He signaled to Donald and Goofy for a hasty retreat, but as he made to run, a sickening yelp sounded from behind him.

Out of the effervescent swamp squelched a ball of muck. When it touched ground and stopped in front of Sora, it shook free of the mud caked across its body to reveal a small, scaly creature that resembled a deformed frog. It looked up at the Keyblade master with its big, red eyes shaped like billiard balls. A forked tongue hissed from its pale, wide mouth as it looked curiously at the stranger.

Taking no chances, Sora summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the creature, only to earn a panicked screech. The scaly critter rose high on its webbed hind legs and performed a frenetic jig.

"No hurt me! No hurt me!" it yelped.

Amazed that it could speak, Sora lowered his weapon. "I won't hurt you," he said through his shirt, while still guarding his nose from the stench.

The strange little thing stopped mid-jig and cocked its head. It eyed the Keyblade for some time, and then flashed its forked tongue. "No hurt me?"

"No. What are you?"

The creature said something between a gurgle and squelch—completely unintelligible to Sora.

"Could you repeat that?" Sora asked, only to get the same response. He made to ask another question, but Donald interrupted him. He was getting impatient.

"Hurry it up! I'm dying over here! This place reeks!"

Sora agreed. The powerful fumes were threatening to knock him unconscious, and so his health took precedence over his curiosity. He bade the creature farewell before taking off for the ship.

But the little squelching creature howled in pain the second Sora turned his back to run. It chased after him, screaming, "No leave me! No leave me!"

A powerful vertigo hit Sora as he raced through the haze, yet even still, he couldn't ignore a cry for help. He stopped, and without saying anything, resolved to scoop the little squelcher into his arms and take him aboard the ship. Of course, both Donald and Goofy had their reservations, but they were too ill from the decaying world to voice their opposition quite yet.

Not even waiting for everyone to buckle in, Donald kicked the thrusters into gear and shot the ship into the atmosphere. He filled the air multiple times through a variety of filters, but even so, the stench of illness and death lingered in everyone's nostrils.

As the ship rocketed across the universe, the squelcher sat comfortably in Sora's lap. The muck caked across its scaly exterior muddied Sora's clothing, making him even more ill. But still the Keyblade master persevered. There was a soul in need of help, and he would hold on for as long as necessary. Although, that didn't stop him from losing consciousness.

When the team reached Traverse Town, Donald slapped Sora awake.

"That thing is disgusting! It needs to go," he ordered.

"All he needs is a good bath—just like we do," Sora contended. "I'm sure that'll cure the smell."

Donald crossed his arms and tapped his foot while he thought over the proposition. "Fine," he huffed after a while. "But if it causes any trouble, I'm frying it with a thunderbolt. Got it?"

"Okay."

Sora tried to stay upwind as he carried the squelcher to the hotel where a warm bath awaited them both. The stench did not go unnoticed, however. Passers-by reeled back and ran away from the stigmatized Keybearer as he trudged through the streets like a pariah.

The squelcher was over-stimulated by the new sights and sounds. He wriggled and squirmed in Sora's arms, but the Keybearer wouldn't let go. When they passed under a bright, neon sign, the squelcher bit Sora and made a run for it. The sign advertised fine women's linens. Pressing his mud-caked face across the store window, the squelcher eyed the women shopping inside. It hissed its tongue, fogging up the glass. When one woman spotted it, she screamed and alerted everyone else. Panic ensued as the populous believed the squelcher to be a Heartless.

The Keyblade master soon arrived on the scene and, after a great deal of effort, managed to quell the frantic masses. He quickly pried the squelcher free of the window and hauled him to the hotel. When the finally arrived in Sora's room, the Keybearer filled the tub with hot water and bubble bath, and raided the Red Room next door of all its therapeutic bath salts. Sora then grabbed the squelcher and tried dunking him in the water, but the foul creature brayed like a wounded ass. It clawed and hissed at Sora as it tried to escape.

Despite all of Sora's attempts to assure the creature that no harm would come to it, the squelcher continued to wail until concerned citizens pounded on Sora's door. The Keyblade master lost his patience and forcibly threw the hysterical creature into the cleansing bath. The clear, soapy water immediately turned black as pitch as all the muck and goop washed off the squelcher's scaly frame. Its true form was less bulbous and round without the excess mud. The squelcher was of a pale, sickly green color composed of mostly scales, and a thick leathery exterior that ran down its chest.

It screamed and howled while splashing in the water until it climbed out and ran circles around the room. At that point, Leon kicked down the door demanding an explanation.

"People are telling me you've taken a Heartless as a pet," he said while eying the squelcher.

"It's not a Heartless; it's a native from a world we've visited," Sora said. "Well, at least I think it is."

"You know the rules: no meddling."

"But it was scared! It needed my help."

"It doesn't belong here. Take it back—now."

While Sora and Leon continued arguing, the squelcher stopped in its hysterics to look up at the newcomer. He studied the gruff warrior who spoke in a finite, commanding tone and stood tall with steady reserve. Leon was a candid, no-nonsense authoritative figure who dressed in black but gave off the aura of a far lighter, and gentler color. The squelcher flashed its forked tongue and hobbled up to the proud, lionhearted hero. It stood at the tip of Leon's feet, looked up at the tall warrior with a lick of its pale lips, and with a mighty bound, jumped up high and bit the man hard in the stomach.

Leon roared and smacked away the malicious critter, sending it flying into a wall. "That thing is no friend of yours!" He drew his gunblade.

"Wait, don't hurt it!" Sora rushed up to defend the cowering creature. "It's probably just a misunderstanding!"

"That thing attacked me!"

"Maybe because it felt threatened! I mean, you _did_ kick the door down and barge in shouting how it should go back to that awful place."

Leon scowled and eyed the squelching creature hiding behind the Keybearer. Those big, red eyes harbored a hunger in them—but for what, Leon didn't know. The creature continued to lick its sickly green lips with its forked tongue, never once taking its sights off the bleeding wound it inflicted on Leon's abdomen.

"Please, Leon—I beg you! Let me handle it," Sora implored. "I'm the Keyblade master. I know what I'm doing."

"You'd better," the warrior said, lowering his gunblade. "One more screw up, and I'm lopping its head off. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

Leon sheathed his blade, and with one last look at the devious little demon, slowly backed out of the room. But he took care not to wander too far. He would keep close watch over the Keyblade master until the matter was settled. This was a lesson Sora would need to learn on his own, Leon resolved, for as savior of all the worlds, he needed to distinguish well friend from foe.

After Leon had left, Sora scolded the creature. "That was my friend you bit!" he said. "Why did you do it?"

The squelcher averted its gaze to floor and said in a low, trembling voice, "I scared. He scary."

Sora sighed. "That's what I figured. But don't worry; I'll keep you safe." He tidy up the room a bit and replaced the door in its frame before tossing on some new, clean clothes. He imagined Donald and Goofy were still cleaning themselves of the dark filth, so decided to get to know the creature a bit more.

"So was that your home?" Sora asked.

The squelcher flashed its tongue and nodded.

"I'll bet it looked nicer before the Heartless arrived, huh?"

"Heartless?" the creature hissed.

"Yeah, you know—those big, black shadow things that attacked me. The Keyblade makes short work of them, though."

"Keyblade?"

"Uh-huh. This thing right here." Sora stretched out his hand, and in a flash of blinding, white light, the Keyblade materialized in his grasp.

The squelcher stood in awe of the shiny blade now that he could see it close-up. He scurried in closer, licking his lips and raising his gooey, webbed hands up to touch it. But before he could, Sora wished it away, startling the creature and sending it stumbling backwards.

"Whoops, sorry."

The squelcher yelped and gurgled as it rolled back onto its feet. "I want see again," it said.

"You want to see it again?"

"Yeah, yeah," the slimy creature said with a feverous nod. "I want see again!"

"Maybe later," Sora replied. "I don't like taking it out too much because it attracts the Heartless."

"I want see again!" the squelcher said with greater persistence. "I want see again! I want see again!"

Sora was getting annoyed. "I said later."

The squelcher scrunched its sickly green face then let out an ear-shattering screech. "I want see again!"

"Hey, what's the matter with you?" Sora shouted as the squelcher continued to throw its tantrum. But no matter what he did or said to try and quell the thing, it wouldn't shut up. It cried and wailed like an abandoned baby drowning in the rain. At that point, Donald and Goofy stormed in, again breaking the door.

"I told you he was bad news," said Donald, who held up his staff in preparation to cast a spell. But Sora stopped him.

"He's probably just in shock!" he tried to reason. "I mean, his home _did_ fall to the Heartless."

"Shock nothing! It's just as bad as any of the Heartless," the wizard contended.

"Sora, I think it was a bad idea bringin' him here," Goofy shouted over the squelcher's howls.

"Maybe he's just hungry. Please, guys; just give him a chance."

"Aw phooey, Sora! You're too nice for your own good!" Donald quacked. He started conjuring a spell, but Sora tackled him to the ground. "You'd choose that…that _thing_ over us?"

"It's just a misunderstanding," said Sora. "I'm sure of it. He's all alone, his home is gone—he has nothing and no one. He's probably suffering from shock."

Donald pushed Sora from off of him and give him the eye. "Fine, then!" he spat. "Looks like you've got a new friend, huh? Go try saving the world with him, because Goofy and I are out of here!" Donald gave Goofy a nod and then angrily marched out of the room.

With a sorrowful glance at the Keyblade master, Goofy shook his head. "I sure hope ya know what you've gotten yerself into," he said, "'cuz Donald and I sure don't." With that, he walked out and left Sora alone with the wailing creature that was rolling uncontrollably around the ground.

"Hey, you know what'll cheer you up? How about some food?"

The strange, little creature immediately shut up and bounced back to its feet like nothing had ever happened. "Food?"

"Yeah, there's a nice café that serves all kinds of good grub."

"Food! Food! Food!" The squelcher did a ritualistic dance around Sora as it chanted, earning a chuckle from the Keybearer.

Sora gathered the squelcher in his arms and left the hotel. "Yeah, you're not a bad little fella. You're just hungry, tired, and scared I'll bet."

The squelcher nestled into Sora's chest, getting all comfy cozy like a baby in a parent or older sibling's care. While resting its head, it could hear the firm and steady beat of the Keybearer's heart—an alluring, succulent sound. It was strong, yet supple. The creature licked its lips.

On the way to the café, however, the Heartless struck. A mob of screaming citizens flooded the streets as they fled to safety. Much to its dissatisfaction, the creature was pried from Sora's warm chest and set on the ground as the Keyblade master prepared to face the enemy.

"Stay here!" he ordered as he summoned his blade and charged into battle.

As its red eyes trained the Keyblade's chosen hero in action, the creature spawned from the muck gurgled and growled with a hunger. It longed for the warmth of Sora's chest and yearned for the taste of light. The scaly, cold creature that knew nothing aside from disease, filth, and darkness swelled with envy as it watched bright-eyed Sora swing his silver and gold blade to slay the Heartless.

It licked its lips and hobbled towards the Keybearer.

Sora's back was to the creature as he dispatched the last few Shadows and rested his Keyblade on his shoulder. "All in a day's work!" he proudly proclaimed with a smile. "And now to—graahh!" Sora let out a painful cry and collapsed to his knees. A sharp, frigid pain seared along his back plunging him into a world of torment. His once radiant body chilled as the color drained from his once healthy, tanned face.

The Keyblade flew out of his hands and skidded across the way as its wielder writhed in excruciating pain. All the nerves in his torso throbbed; he had no energy to maneuver and see what had stabbed him. He flailed his weakened arms at his back in a feeble attempted to get at whatever foul blade had felled him, but he failed. Sora whimpered and moaned as his vision began to blur.

It was then that he heard the sadistic little giggle of the squelcher as it waddled up to Sora's face.

"Y-you…? But…why?" Sora asked feebly. His strength was waning fast.

The squelcher let out a sickly little squeal as its big, red eyes smiled. It held up its bloodstained hand that now brandished sharp, poisonous claws and scratched Sora deep across the face. "You no warm anymore, hee, hee."

Sora's heartbeat started to slow and he closed his eyes. His body went limp.

The sickly creature hissed with glee and hobbled over to the wayward Keyblade. A stream of drool pooled from its anxious mouth as it reached out to grab the shiny blade, but before it could touch it, the Keyblade exploded into light that burned and blinded the little sack of spite. It howled and wailed as it tumbled over and knocked up against a pair of black boots. The creature looked up to see Leon's glaring face.

"It's over!" the proud warrior roared. He unsheathed his gunblade and unleashed hell on the little creature from the mucky swamp. After beating the backstabbing creature into a bloody pulp, Leon abandoned it in the middle of the street and ran to heal Sora. He pulled out an Elixir and poured it over the Keyblade master's wounds, healing him instantly.

With a teary yawn, Sora pushed back to his feet looking like the picture of health. "Leon? What are you doing here?" he asked, confused. "What happened?"

"That," Leon said, pointing to the beaten fiend, "tried to kill you."

"What? No way!" Sora thought about it for a moment until all the memories came rushing back. He remembered the cold feeing of helplessness and betrayal, and idly touched his hand to his face. No open wound. "Did you cure me?"

"I'll put it on your tab."

"Thank you, Leon." The Keyblade master's head drooped in failure. "I guess everyone was right."

"Consider it a lesson learned." Leon sheathed his blade and walked away.

But as Sora went to do the same, the squelcher let out a feeble cough. "Help…me…" it said in a weak, broken voice.

"Why should I?" Sora said defensively.

The creature coughed again and reached out its pathetic, little hand. "I…so sorry. I make mistake… You want help me. I no see that. I see that now. I see…you want be my…my… _friend_. I want friend. I so, so, so….sorry."

Sora hesitated for a moment. The thing crying out to him was a demon borne from the darkness of a dying world that harbored a malicious, envious aura and had tried to kill him. But still, it was pleading for help. Something inside Sora's heart told him to help the weak. Everyone made mistakes, and some people and creatures alike were apt to be tempted by the darkness. He thought to himself: "What if one of my friends succumbs to the darkness and hurts me? Would I just abandon them? What if it was Riku? Or Kairi? Or Donald? Or Goofy?"

He thought about it long and hard, and in the end, he took a step forward. Sora summoned the Keyblade and cast a cure spell on the squelcher.

Feeling as good as new, the slimy creature bounded to its feet and blinked its bulbous, red eyes. "Thanks you," it said.

"Just don't do that again," Sora warned.

"No, no. Never."

"We're friends now, understand? And friends don't try to kill each other."

The creature nodded dumbly.

"You know what you did was wrong, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Wrong. Big wrong! Never do again. Never. Be good friend! Good friend!"

"Good." Sora gave a firm nod and willed the Keyblade away. "Now let's go get some food!" He turned in the direction of the café with the creature trailing behind him.

The squelcher hobbled in Sora's shadow. It missed the warmth of Sora's chest, but at the same time, it abhorred it. It feared it. The warmth and the strength—the squelcher wanted it destroyed. Something inside of it compelled it to snuff out the flame of goodness burning within Sora's chest. Raising its webbed hands, the squelcher extended its claws and leaped into the air, again impaling Sora on the back. It stabbed the Keyblade master relentlessly again and again.

"Get off of me!" shouted the Keyblade master. The Elixir still running through his veins gave him immunity to the paralytic poison and he tossed the deranged demon from off his person.

But the squelcher wouldn't go down without a fight. It bounced back to its feet and hurled itself at Sora. "Stop hurting me!" it wailed with every scratch it made into Sora's flesh. Streams of blood ran down the Keybearer's abdomen as the creature punctured his every muscle. "Stop hurting me! Stop hurting me!"

"You're the one hurting _me_!" Sora cried.

"You hurt me! You hurt me!" brayed the insane fiend. "You bad friend! You bad friend! Awful person! Awful person!" It opened its pale mouth wide and took a huge bite into Sora's stomach.

His torso a bloodied mess, Sora shouted out in pain and collapsed. Splatters of his blood painted the streets and nearby buildings. He tried to wrestle the little demon from off of him, but it was too quick. It ran circles all around his body, clawing at everything it could until Sora collapsed again.

Huffing and panting, the envious sack of spite looked on with satisfaction at its work. Sora was an unmoving pile of coldness. The creature smiled. "You bad friend," it said a final time before it turned its back to the fallen hero and started to hobble away in all its hunched, leathery glory. But a sudden sound stopped it dead in its tracks.

Sora groaned and slowly forced himself to his feet. He coughed up a handful of blood as he staggered upright and summoned the Keyblade.

"But you dead!" said the disillusioned squelcher. It attacked Sora again, crawling all over his body and stabbing him repeatedly in the back. The Keyblade master fell as fast as he rose. The hellspawn delayed its departure, watching to make sure Sora would stay down this time.

He didn't.

Again Sora rose, using his Keyblade as a crutch, and again the squelcher attacked him. The pattern repeated many times and the creature threw a tantrum.

"Why you no stay dead?" it whined. "Why? Why? Why?"

"You can't kill me," Sora said flatly.

"I kill you, yeah! I kill you! Stay dead! I kill you!"

"You can't kill me," the hero of light repeated. "You can't kill what I really am." His Keyblade started to glow with a pure, white light that enveloped his body and cured all of his wounds.

Scared, the creature started to back away slowly.

Sora took a step forward, his body emanating with warm light.

"N-no! Stay back! Back, back!" the squelcher cried.

Sora took another step forward. He was serene as he looked down at the pale, little creature with kind, understanding eyes. There wasn't even the slightest hint of malice in him as the Keyblade's chosen one advanced on the frightened creature.

Yet still the squelcher whined, its horrid, hunched body trembling with terror. As Sora continued to advance, the creature backed itself into a corner in an alley. Sora was a hand-reach away, and the squelcher screeched like a blaring siren. The whole town heard its fearful cry as it cowered away from the hero of light.

"Leave me aloooooooone!" it screamed, and before Sora could say or do anything, the red-eyed, green monstrosity born from a fallen world brandished its claws and stabbed itself to death.

Shortly after, Donald and Goofy arrived.

"Sora! We heard the scream!" said Goofy.

"We're here to help, whether you like it or not!" Donald added.

But the Keyblade master simply shook his head. "Some people are beyond our help."

In a burst of light, the Keyblade vanished and Sora turned his back to the foul creature for the final time.

The End


End file.
